Chapter 145: A poor quality cross is also an opportunity

"The new pattern of La Liga worth looking forward to - the five heroes compete for supremacy!"

This was the front page headline of the newspaper Ace after this round of competition.

Simeone was holding the newspaper and thinking about it. Atletico Madrid has had a lot of ups and downs in the league this season, mainly because Atletico Madrid has not yet reached a satisfactory level with the new players and the team after the departure of several main players.

But Atletico Madrid dropped the chain, and Real Madrid also dropped the chain before the start of the season, because the coach was changed at the beginning of the new season, which made Real Madrid experience a short period of turmoil, but now Real Madrid's state is under the adjustment of Zidane, and the overall upward momentum is very strong.

Barcelona, who also ushered in a new head coach this season, was unbeatable at the beginning of the season, and no one would have thought that Barcelona, who was in full form, would suddenly usher in two consecutive league defeats. In this way, Barcelona is not as stable as one might think.

The league is a long marathon and the team that makes the fewest mistakes will lift the trophy, but the expected La Liga troika has all gone awry in the league, giving Valencia and Sevilla the chance to fight for the top of the league table.

However, in Simeone's view, this season's title rivals are still Real Madrid and Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid must run in the squad as soon as possible, and then use a more economical way to deal with the league schedule.

Last season, Atletico Madrid had a very difficult period, due to the second half of the league, Atletico Madrid had a crisis of fitness and injury, their advantage in the standings was once caught up by Barcelona or even overtaken, although in the end, with Li Qingshan's stable performance, Atletico Madrid supported that period of time.

Simeone always thinks back to that time, because Atletico Madrid's way of playing requires more physical energy, and in the second half of the league, when the schedule becomes more and more tight, Atletico Madrid is prone to injuries and physical exhaustion.

Simeone has tried to change the pace of Atletico Madrid from the very beginning of the season, winning games in the most economical way possible against some teams that are fishy and avoid excessive physical exertion and the possibility of injuries.

As a result, after only ten rounds of the league, Simeone has used several formations to play.

However, such frequent changes in formation are not a problem, so Simeone must fix the team's A tactics as soon as possible.

During this time, the 4231 formation played by the team looks to be in good control, and the defensive thickness brought by the double back waist makes the team's defense much better, and Li Qingshan's attack power as a single striker seems to be enough at present, Griezmann is also good in the forward position, and the most important thing is that Atletico Madrid has abundant personnel reserves in these positions, and in the forward position, Li Qingshan and Mandzukic compete for a position, which is enough for Atletico Madrid. The presence of Mario Suarez, Saul, and Arda Turan in this position can all reassure Simeone. In the midfield position, Antoine Griezmann can play, so can Raul Garcia, and if necessary, Koke can also play in that position.

Therefore, the team's existing personnel structure is focused on supporting this formation.

The only thing that bothered Simeone was that if Antoine Griezmann was to play in the midfield position, the quality of his crosses down the flanks would suffer.

Koke and Raul Garcia will appear in the left and right midfield positions, with Siqueira and Juanfran as left and right defenders. Koke and Raul Garcia are okay, they both have good enough footwork to make a good pass when there is enough space, but the two full-backs are not, and the quality of their crosses often makes it impossible for Simeone to look at them directly.

But if the two full-backs are not involved in the attack in the front court and pull the space to cross, Koke and Raul Garcia are not players who are known for their ability to get rid of the ball, if Griezmann is on the wing, he can get rid of the defenders and create space for crosses, but if this job is handed over to Koke and Raul Garcia, the completion effect will not be so good.

It's hard to pass a quality cross when someone is pressing.

In the end, Simeone is determined to fix Griezmann in the midfield position, and Simeone values Griezmann's creativity in the midfield position and attacking ability in this position more than putting him on the wing as an attacker and crosser.

Fortunately, Li Qingshan is not a picky striker, even if it is some very poor quality crosses, he can sometimes swallow this cake.

In the next fourth round of the Champions League group stage, in the match between Atletico Madrid and Roma, Li Qingshan used two headers to completely put Simeone at ease.

When Roma arrived at the Stadio Calderón, they were greeted by huge boos from the Atletico Madrid fans.

Obviously, this stadium is very unfriendly to Roma and they do not welcome this Italian team.

Atletico Madrid has no grudges with Roma in history, and the reason why Atletico Madrid fans are so unwelcome to see the Roma team is, of course, the "racist" insult that Li Qingshan suffered in Italy.

This incident did not attract much attention in Spain, first of all, of course, because of Atletico Madrid's big win over their opponents, and the Madrid media were much more tolerant of the losers.

But in China and Italy, the incident has caused waves, especially in Italy, where AS Roma has been warned by UEFA.

It is said that the matter did not make a big fuss, and the Roman side kept a low profile, and the matter passed.

But the leaders of local extremist groups in Rome have openly made a lot of nonsense on television.

"If that Chinese guy comes to Rome in the future, he will be greeted with a pistol and bullets!!"

As soon as this remark came out, it immediately detonated the Italian press. If ordinary fans say this, maybe no one will believe it, but the extreme fan organizations in Italy are inextricably linked to the local underworld behind their backs.

The fact that the Chinese citizen found an overt threat from a local Italian organization and is a well-known soccer star in China eventually made the Chinese embassy and consulate in Italy express concern.

Eventually, the club was pressured to announce that members of the fan group would not be allowed to watch the Roma stadium, and the turmoil was overcome.

After Roma won at home to Liverpool in the last round of the Champions League group stage, they are second in the group with four points.

They obviously came with the goal of scoring points. But Atletico Madrid, who are playing at home, did not give them any chances.

In the first half, Koke struggled to cross into the box from the left, a poor quality pass he had tried many times, but he was still tireless.

Sure enough, this time the cross finally had an effect, and Li Qingshan successfully grabbed the point and put the ball into the goal of the Roma team.

In the second half, Raul Garcia on the right side crossed in almost the same way, and Li Qingshan stopped the ball on his chest and then carried the opponent's defender and turned and volleyed, fully showing his strong body and increasingly mature back ball and shooting skills.

Atletico Madrid easily defeated Roma 2-0 at home, and after four rounds of the group stage, they won three and drew one without a defeat, and they are top of the group with 10 points.

Borussia Dortmund won 3-1 at home to Liverpool to finish second in the group with six points, while Liverpool are bottom of the group with just one point after four rounds.

The result of this match made Simeone determined to play 4231.

As long as both sides can play the ball, even if the quality is bad, it is an opportunity for Li Qingshan!